For the next few weeks, as you’re waiting on Jasper to make its print debut, we’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to some of the folks who are working hard to make that debut happen. A lot of you already know Kristine Hartvigsen’s friendly face, but for those who haven’t had the pleasure, please meet one of our talented associate editors, Kristine Hartvigsen.
Born in San Francisco, California, Kristine grew up an Army brat whose family enjoyed three military tours at The Presidio, a stint at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, two tours over seven years in four cities in Germany, and, finally, Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina. Her father, the late Col. Robert E. Hartvigsen, was a renowned ear, nose, and throat surgeon. Her mother, the late Carolyn Mills Hartvigsen, was a registered nurse and retired nurse manager.
Kristine earned a bachelor’s degree in education and completed graduate studies in journalism at the University of South Carolina. Following four years of high school varsity sports (cross country, track and field, softball), she went on to heave the javelin and discus for the USC women’s track team and − at the urging of her buddies in the gym − became a member of the USC Weightlifting and Bodybuilding Club, where she excelled in powerlifting competitions. Aside from being freakishly strong, she also indulged her hobbies of reading, writing, and rescuing homeless animals.
She began her journalism career in the mid-1980s at The State and The Columbia Record newspapers, where she served over several years as a copy editor, editorial page assistant, page designer, and feature writer. After defecting from print journalism, she garnered more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit marketing and communications, working with such organizations as the South Carolina Hospital Association, American Field Service (AFS) Intercultural Programs, the Southern Institute on Children and Families, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, and The Nature Conservancy. Her work has received multiple local ADDY awards, as well as honors from IN SHOW, the SC Press Association, the SC Society of Association Executives, the American Research Federation, and the Carolinas Association of Business Communicators. Kristine also is a past editor of South Carolina Business and Lake Murray-Columbia magazines as well as a past contributing editor of undefined magazine.
During her work in the nonprofit world, Kristine became interested in photography, entering photos and repeatedly being accepted into and eventually placing high in her division in the annual Juried Fine Arts Exhibit that is part of the S.C. State Fair. Since then, her photography has been published in: South Carolina Business, Lake Murray-Columbia, Downtown and U, the Greater Columbia Business Journal, and undefined magazines; in The State, the Myrtle Beach Sun News, Lowcountry Life, the South Carolina Business Journal, and the Georgetown Times newspapers; and in numerous print and online publications of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and The Nature Conservancy of South Carolina.
Later in life, Kristine’s interests turned to writing poetry. She published her first poem in the October 1993 edition of The Point, an independent, alternative monthly newspaper published in the Midlands. From 1997 to 1999, she hosted the poetry and music forum “Two World Collide” at Art Bar in the Vista. During that time, she edited a monthly literary rag featuring open mike artists, titled Aurora Borealis, which was published by Art Bar. Continuing to practice her craft, Kristine most recently was named a finalist in the SC Poetry Initiative’s Single Poem Contest in 2010 and 2011.
A graduate of Leadership South Carolina ’s Class of 2008, the award-winning writer, editor, poet, and photographer today serves as associate editor of Jasper: The Word on Columbia Arts.
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